Prospective study of black-white differences in food insufficiency among homebound elders

This study examines race differences in the association of sociodemographic and health-related characteristics with change in food sufficiency status over 1 year in homebound older adults.

Using sociodemographic and health-related data collected during two in-home assessments as part of the North Carolina Nutrition and Function Study, logistic regression models (binary and nominal outcomes) adjusted for covariates and examined the characteristics associated with 1-year change in risk (RFI) and presence (FI) of food insufficiency among a random sample of 268 home-delivered meals participants.

Not having enough money for food and having to prepare cheaper and smaller meals was associated with increased RFI and FI at 1 year; having to borrow money for food, loss of food stamps, and inadequate income increased the odds among Whites, and increased medication use among Blacks.

The findings suggest that race, independent of other characteristics, is associated with diminished food sufficiency over 1 year.